Yes, police officers or other investigators may be able to search someone’s phone in the course of a white collar crime investigation. They may be looking for important information like a list of websites the person visited, their text message logs, their location data, or pictures and videos that they took on their phone.
That said, if the officers are making an arrest, they generally need the person’s consent to unlock their phone. They cannot just force someone to open their device and then perform the search. They have to ask that individual for consent, and the person may decline to give it if they would like to speak to their attorney first and look into their legal defense options.
Getting a search warrant
Without consent, the police may need to get a search warrant to authorize access to that device. They will need to show a judge that this is necessary.
For instance, perhaps someone was arrested on embezzlement charges. The police believe that they used their phone to make electronic transfers to their bank account. Officers may be able to secure a search warrant from a judge so that they can look at the apps on that phone and see if these transactions were authorized.
An illegal search
If the officers do not get consent and do not have a search warrant, then it raises questions about the validity of a search. An officer who illegally searches a phone may certainly find evidence supporting the white collar crime allegations, but will that evidence actually be permitted in court if it was illegally obtained? Often, the answer is no.
This is one of the reasons why it is so important to understand exactly what legal defense options you have when facing such serious allegations.